Rehabilitation machine

ABSTRACT

A dual-purpose rehabilitation machine includes a base, a fixed rod unit, a mobile device, several fastener belts and a driving unit installed behind the fixed rod unit so as to shorten a distance between a user and the fixed rod unit such that when a piston unit of the driving unit is moved to a second position, the user is lifted upward from a bed or chair to abut against the fixed rod unit. The fastener belts are mounted on the mobile device, thereby eliminating the employment of a belt-fixing rod and avoiding collision of a user&#39;s head against the belt-fixing rod, which in turn, economizes the storage space and the manufacturing expense. The fastener belts are distributed on several parts of the patient to assist in stable standing up of the patient and preventing wobbling of lower parts of the patient when standing up.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a rehabilitation machine, andmore particularly a dual-purpose rehabilitation machine for assistingsitting, standing and rehabilitating a person suffering from a lowerlimb disorder and/or exercising a person with lower limb neurologicaldamage or weakness.

2. The Prior Arts

A person suffering from lower nervous system injury and/or lower limbmuscle weakness cannot stand up or walk independently. Therefore, mostof the patients must undergo physical and/or rehabilitation exercises orrequires extra equipments for moving about. A conventional walkingassistant generally includes a foundation seat, a plurality of castersmounted to a bottom side of the foundation seat, a fixed rod unitmounted on an upper side of the foundation seat, a footrest disposedbelow the foundation seat, a mobile device mounted movably on the fixedrod unit, a driving unit having a driving body mounted on the fixed rodunit and a piston unit movably disposed in the driving body andconnected to a mobile device, and a protection cushion disposed on thedriving unit, a belt-fixing rod disposed on the top end of the mobiledevice, a belt body and a plurality of fastener belts.

In the conventional walking assistant, the driving unit is installed infront of the fixed rod unit, which means the driving unit is locatedbetween the patient and the fixed rod unit, thereby spacing the patientfar away from the fixed rod unit. In addition, the protection cushion islocated too close to the patient such that the patient may abut againstthe protection cushion even when the piston unit has extended to themaximum extension, thereby preventing the patient to stand up fully.

Moreover, the patient is secured to the conventional walking assistantonly through the belt body, which straddles around the armpit of thepatient and the belt body is located close to the head of the patient,which may cause collision of the patient's head against the belt-fixingrod, which in turn, causing inclination of the belt-fixing rod relativeto the driving body and hence occupying a relatively large room.

Note that in the conventional walking assistant, the belt body onlystraddles around the armpit of the patient, and leaving the lower limbas well as the legs of the patent wobbling relative to the remainingparts of the walking assistant.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A primary objective of the present invention is to provide adual-purpose rehabilitation machine, in which, a driving unit isinstalled behind a fixed rod unit so as to shorten a spaced-apartdistance between the fixed rod unit and a user such that when a pistonunit of the driving unit is moved to a second position, the user of therehabilitation machine can stand up fully from a patient's bed and/or awheeled chair so as to be nearby the fixed rod unit and a mobile device.

A secondary objective of the present invention is to provide adual-purpose rehabilitation machine, in which, a plurality of fastenerbelts are mounted on a mobile device, thereby eliminating the employmentof a belt-fixing rod and avoiding the problem of collision of a user'shead against the belt-fixing rod, which in turn, economizes the storagespace and the manufacturing expense.

Still another objective of the present invention is to provide adual-purpose rehabilitation machine, in which, a plurality of fastenerbelts are mounted and distributed on several parts of the patient, likethe patient's legs, buttocks, waist and armpit so as to assist in stablestanding up of the patient and preventing wobbling of lower parts of thepatient when doing the physical exercises.

A dual-purpose rehabilitation machine of the present invention includesa base; a plurality of casters; a fixed rod unit; a footrest member; amobile device; a plurality of fastener belts; and a driving unit.

The casters are mounted on a bottom side of the base.

The fixed rod unit is installed on an upper side of the base.

The footrest member is disposed on the base and is located in front ofthe fixed rod unit.

The mobile device includes an upright post installed on the base so asto be located at one side of the fixed rod unit, a slide seat mountedslidably on the fixed rod unit, a first pivot rod having a lower endconnected pivotally to the upright post and an upper end and a secondpivot rod having an upper end connected pivotally to the slide seat anda lower end connected pivotally to the upper end of the first pivot rod.

The fastener belts are mounted on the mobile device for fasteningseveral parts of a user securely.

The driving unit includes a cylinder body installed on the fixed rodunit so as to be located opposite side of the upright post and a pistonunit disposed movably within the cylinder body and further connectedpivotally to the slide seat such that upon activation the slide seat ismovable between a first position and a second position.

Movement of the piston unit into the cylinder body results in downwardmovement of the slide seat along the fixed rod unit to the firstposition, thereby driving the first and second pivot rods away from thefixed rod unit.

Movement of the piston rod outwardly from the cylinder body results inupward movement of the slide seat along the fixed rod unit to the secondposition, thereby driving the first and second pivot rods toward andabuts the first and second pivot rods against the fixed rod unit.

Preferably, the base includes a straight rod, a first U-shaped framehaving a first connecting part connected to one end of the straight rodand two extension parts extending from two opposite ends of the firstconnection part, and a second U-shaped frame having a second connectingpart connected to the other end of the straight rod and two extensionparts extending from two opposite ends of the second connection part,wherein the plurality of casters are mounted rotatably to bottom sidesof free ends of the extension parts of the first and second U-shapedframes while the fixed rod unit is mounted uprightly on an upper side ofthe first connecting part of the first U-shaped frame with the footrestplate mounted below the straight rod adjacent to the first connectingpart and transversely extending across the upright post of the mobiledevice.

Preferably, the first U-shaped frame has a width measured transverselyof the straight rod ranging 65-85 cm and the second U-shaped frame has awidth measured transversely of the straight rod ranging 25-45 cm.

Preferably, the fixed rod unit has a rear side cooperating with a freeend of the extension part of the first U-shaped frame defining a firstlength equal to 25-35% of total length of the base and furthercooperating with a free end of the extension part of the second U-shapedframe a second length equal to 65-75% of total length of the base.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the footrest member includesa connection section extending downwardly from a bottom side of thestraight rod and a footrest section having a front end connected to theconnection section such that the footrest section extends transverselyfrom both sides of the straight rod and that the footrest sectiondefines a vertical height relative to a support ground smaller than adiameter of each caster.

Preferably, the dual-purpose rehabilitation machine of the presentinvention further includes a first protection cushion fixed to theupright post, a second protection cushion fixed to the first pivot rodand a third protection cushion fixed to the second pivot rod.

The dual-purpose rehabilitation machine of the present invention furtherincludes a plurality of shackles mounted respectively on the first,second and third protection cushions and the fastener belts, therebydefining a leg fastener belt body with the shackles on the firstprotection cushion for securing the legs of a user, a waist-buttockfastener belt body with the shackles on the second protection cushionfor securing the waist and buttock of the user and an armpit fastenerbody with the shackle on the third protection cushion for securing anarmpit of the user.

Preferably, the dual-purpose rehabilitation machine of the presentinvention further includes a pair of handgrips mounted on two oppositesides of the third protection cushion to facilitate griping by hands ofthe user for standing up.

Preferably, the dual-purpose rehabilitation machine of the presentinvention further includes a pair of handles fixed to two opposite sideof the fixed rod unit adjacent to the second protection cushion.

One distinct feature of the present invention resides in that becausethe driving unit is installed behind the fixed rod unit, therebyshortening the distance between the patient and the fixed rod unit suchthat movement of the piston rod outwardly from the cylinder body resultsin upward movement of the slide seat along the fixed rod unit to thesecond position, thereby pulling the patient upward to a standingposition so as to be nearby the fixed rod unit and the mobile device.Because the fastener belts are installed on the movable device, therebyeliminating the employment of a belt-fixing rod and avoiding the problemof collision of the patient's head against the belt-fixing rod, which inturn, economizes the storage space and the manufacturing expense.Moreover, since the fastener belts are distributed on several parts ofthe patient's body, like the patient's legs, buttock, waist and armpitso as to assist in stable standing up of the patient and preventingwobbling of lower parts of the patient when doing the physicalexercises.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art byreading the following detailed description of a preferred embodimentthereof, with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dual-purpose rehabilitation machine ofthe present invention;

FIG. 2 is a lateral side view of the dual-purpose rehabilitation machineof the present invention;

FIG. 3A shows the dual-purpose rehabilitation machine of the presentinvention, where a patient sitting on a bed uses the machine for doingexercises;

FIG. 3B shows the dual-purpose rehabilitation machine of the presentinvention, where a patient stands up on the machine for doing exercises;

FIG. 4A shows the dual-purpose rehabilitation machine of the presentinvention, where a patient sitting on a wheeled chair uses the machinefor doing exercises;

FIG. 4B shows the dual-purpose rehabilitation machine of the presentinvention, where a patient stands up from a wheeled chair uses themachine for doing exercises; and

FIG. 5 illustrates how a healthcare provider moves a patient by thedual-purpose rehabilitation machine of the present invention from oneplace to another place.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of theinvention and, together with the description, serve to explain theprinciples of the invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, wherein FIG. 1 is a perspective view of adual-purpose rehabilitation machine of the present invention; and FIG. 2is a lateral side view of the dual-purpose rehabilitation machine of thepresent invention. As shown, a dual-purpose rehabilitation machineaccording to the present invention includes a base 10; a plurality ofcasters 20; a fixed rod unit 30; a footrest member 40; a mobile device50; a first protection cushion 61; a second protection cushion 62; athird protection cushion 63; a plurality of shackles 71-74; a pluralityof fastener belts; a driving unit 90; a pair of handgrips 100 and a pairof handles 200.

The base 10 includes a straight rod 11, a first U-shaped frame 12 and asecond U-shaped frame 13. The first U-shaped frame 12 has a firstconnecting part 121 connected to one end of the straight rod 11 and twoextension parts 122 extending from two opposite ends of the firstconnection part 121. The second U-shaped frame 13 has a secondconnecting part 131 connected to the other end of the straight rod 11and two extension parts 132 extending from two opposite ends of thesecond connection part 131, wherein the fixed rod unit 30 is mounteduprightly on an upper side of the first connecting part 121 of the firstU-shaped frame 12. Preferably, the first U-shaped frame 12 has a widthmeasured transversely of the straight rod 11 ranging 65-85 cm and thesecond U-shaped frame 13 has a width measured transversely of thestraight rod 11 ranging 25-45 cm. To be more specific, the widths of thefirst and second U-shaped frames 12, 13 are so dimensioned to fit forpassing through the openings of doors, more particularly, the secondU-shaped frame 13 is fit to be drawn below a patient's bed (B) or awheeled chair (W), as best shown in FIGS. 3A and 4A. The first U-shapedframe 12 may have a maximum width of 68 cm; the second U-shaped frame 13may have a maximum with of 30 cm while a total length of the base 10 is105 cm.

The casters 20 are mounted rotatably on a bottom side of the base 10. Tobe more specific, the plurality of casters 20 are mounted rotatably tothe bottom sides of free ends of the extension parts 122, 132 of thefirst and second U-shaped frames 12, 13.

The fixed rod unit 30 is installed on an upper side of the base 10. Tobe more specific, the fixed rod unit 30 is mounted vertically on theupper side of the first connecting part 121 of the first U-shaped frame12. Preferably, the fixed rod unit 30 has a rear side cooperating with afree end of the extension part 122 of the first U-shaped frame 12defining a first length equal to 25-35% of total length of the base 10and further cooperating with a free end of the extension part 132 of thesecond U-shaped frame 13 a second length equal to 65-75% of total lengthof the base 10. To be more specific, the base 10 has the maximum of 105cm. Therefore, the rear side of the fixed rod unit 30 and the free endof the extension part 122 of the first U-shaped frame 12 define thefirst length D1 of 26.25-36.75 cm while the rear side of the fixed rodunit 30 the free end of the extension part 132 of the second U-shapedframe 13 define the second length D2 of 68.25-78.75 cm. In other words,the second length D2 of 68.25-78.75 cm of the base 10 is the distancefor moving below the patient's bed (B) or the wheeled chair (W) so as topermit the leg of the patient nearby the fixed rod unit 30, as bestshown in FIGS. 3A and 4A. It is noted that the first distance D1 of 30cm and the second distance D2 of 75 cm provide the best moving functionof the base 10.

The footrest member 40 is disposed on the base 10 and is located infront of the fixed rod unit 30. To be more specific, the footrest member40 is mounted below the straight rod 11 adjacent to the first connectingpart 121 and transversely extends across the straight rod 11.Preferably, the footrest member 40 includes a connection section 41extending downwardly from a bottom side of the straight rod 11 and afootrest section 42 having a front end connected to the connectionsection 41 such that the footrest section 42 extends transversely fromboth sides of the straight rod 11 and that the footrest section 42defines a vertical height D3 relative to a support ground smaller than adiameter of each caster 20. In other words, the footrest section 42 hasa length of 35 cm to permit standing of every person and is spaced apartfrom the support ground by 7 cm.

The mobile device 50 includes an upright post 51 installed on the base10 so as to be located at one side of (in front of) the fixed rod unit30, a slide seat 52 mounted slidably on the fixed rod unit 30, a firstpivot rod 53 having a lower end connected pivotally to the upright post51 and an upper end and a second pivot rod 54 having an upper endconnected pivotally to the slide seat 51 and a lower end connectedpivotally to the upper end of the first pivot rod 53. To be morespecific, the upright post 51 is mounted on and extends in parallelmanner with the fixed rod unit 30.

The first protection cushion 61 is fixed on the front side of theupright post 51 and is rectangular with a length of 35 cm and a width of15 cm. The second protection cushion 62 is fixed to the first pivot rod53 and is rectangular with a length of 35 cm and a width of 20 while athird protection cushion 63 is fixed to the second pivot rod 54 and isrectangular with a length of 35 cm and a width of 20. To be morespecific, once a patient sitting in a wheeled chair is nearby therehabilitation machine of the present invention, the first, second andthird protection cushions 61, 62 and 63 are respectively correspond tothe calf, the upper leg and the chest of the patient.

The rehabilitation machine of the present invention further includes aplurality of shackles 71-74 mounted respectively on the first, secondand third protection cushions 61, 62, 63. To be more specific, twoshackles 71 are fixed on two opposite sides of the first protectioncushion 61, two shackles 72 are fixed on two opposite sides of thesecond protection cushion 62 and one shackle 73 is fixed a lower part ofthe second protection cushion 62, and two shackles 74 are fixed on twoopposite sides of the third protection cushion 63.

The fastener belts are mounted on the mobile device 50 for securingseveral parts of a patient body relative to the rehabilitation machineof the present invention. To be more specific, a first fastener belt 81is mounted on the first protection cushion 61 via the shackles 71,thereby defining a leg fastener belt body for securing the calf of lowerleg of the patient (see FIG. 3A). A second fastener belt 82 is mountedon the second protection cushion 62 via the shackles 72, therebydefining a waist-buttock fastener belt body for securing the waist andbuttock of the patient while a third fastener belt 83 is mounted on thethird protection cushion 63 via the shackles 74, thereby defining anarmpit fastener belt body for securing an armpit of the patient, as bestshown in FIGS. 3A and 4A. In this embodiment, the first fastener belt 81may be an independent one so long as it can secure the leg. The secondfastener belt 82 may consist of a waist-fastening belt portion 821 and abuttock-lifting belt portion 822. A plurality of connection straps 84are used to interconnect the second and third fastener belts 82, 83 suchthat after assembly of the first, second and third fastener belts 81,82, 83 relative to the first, second and third protection cushions 61,82, 63, the second and third fastener belts 82, 83 can withstand theentire weight of a patient, a detailed description of which will begiven in the following paragraphs.

The driving unit 90 includes a cylinder body 91 installed on the fixedrod unit 30 so as to be located opposite side of the upright post 51 anda piston unit 92 disposed movably within the cylinder body 91 andfurther connected pivotally to the slide seat 52 such that uponactivation the slide seat 52 is movable between a first position and asecond position. Preferably, the cylinder body 91 can be hydraulic,pneumatic or electrically driven cylinder.

The handgrips 100 are mounted on two opposite sides of the thirdprotection cushion 63 to facilitate griping by hands of the patient.

The handles 200 are fixed to two opposite side of the fixed rod unit 30adjacent to the second protection cushion 62. Preferably, the handles200 are spaced apart from the support ground by 105-115 cm to facilitategripping of a health care provider or a nurse for moving therehabilitation machine of the present invention from one place to theother. It is noted that 110 cm is the ideal distance from the supportground.

The application of the rehabilitation machine of the present inventionis given in the following paragraphs.

Referring to FIG. 3A, for a bed-ridden patient, who is unable to standup by himself due to too weak and if he wishes to stand up, the drivingunit 90 is activated first of all such that movement of the piston unit92 into the cylinder body 92 results in downward movement of the slideseat 52 along the fixed rod unit 30 to a first position, thereby drivingthe first and second pivot rods 53, 54 away from the fixed rod unit 30.At this time, the base 10 of the rehabilitation machine is movedmanually below the patient bed B to a position, where the secondU-shaped frame 13 will be located below the patient bed B, where thepatient's foot can step on the footrest section 41 of the footrestmember 40 while the knees abut against the first protection cushion 61after stepping into the leg fastener belt body. After which, thewaist-buttock fastener belt body 82 and the armpit fastener body 83 aremanipulated by assistants in such a manner to go around the waist, thebuttock and the armpit of the patient meanwhile letting the hands togrip the handgrips 100 on the third protection cushion 63.

Referring to FIG. 3B, the driving unit 90 is activated again such thatmovement of the piston rod 92 outwardly from the cylinder body 92results in upward movement of the slide seat 52 along the fixed rod unit30 to a second position, thereby driving the first and second pivot rods53, 54 toward the fixed rod unit 30, which action, results in pullingthe patient toward the fixed rod unit 30 such that the knees abutagainst the first protection cushion 61, the stomach abuts against thesecond protection cushion 62 while the chest of the patient abutsagainst the third protection cushion 63. In other words, the patient issaid to be in a standing position, by the assistance of therehabilitation machine of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B, wherein FIG. 4A shows the dual-purposerehabilitation machine of the present invention, where a patient sittingon a wheeled chair uses the machine for doing physical exercises; andFIG. 4B shows the dual-purpose rehabilitation machine of the presentinvention, where a patient stands up from a wheeled chair uses themachine for doing physical exercises. Since the operation of therehabilitation machine of the present invention for standing up andsitting back into the wheeled chair is the same as described in theabovementioned paragraphs, the detailed description thereof is omittedherein for the sake of brevity.

In the rehabilitation machine of the present invention, because thedriving unit 90 is installed behind the fixed rod unit 30, therebyshortening a distance between the patient and the fixed rod unit 30 suchthat movement of the piston unit 92 outwardly from the cylinder body 91so as to dispose the sliding seat 52 to the second position results inpulling the patient directly from the bed (B) or the wheeled chair (W)toward and/or abuts against the fixed rod unit 30, thereby enhancing thestability of the patient.

Moreover since the fastener belts 81, 82, 83 are mounted on the mobiledevice 50, thereby eliminating the employment of a belt-fixing rod andavoiding the problem of collision of a patient's head against thebelt-fixing rod, which in turn, economizes the storage space and themanufacturing expense.

In addition, since the plurality of fastener belts are mounted anddistributed on several parts of the patient, like the patient's legs,buttocks, waist and armpit so as to assist in stable standing up of thepatient and prevent wobbling of lower parts of the patient when doingthe physical exercises or during the standing posture.

In the event that the patient wishes to lay down on the bed (B) or sitback into the wheeled chair (W), the patient only needs to activate thedriving unit 90, where movement of the piston unit 92 into the cylinderbody 92 results in downward movement of the slide seat 52 along thefixed rod unit 30 to the first position, thereby driving the first andsecond pivot rods 53, 54 away from the fixed rod unit 30, which in turn,lower the leg, waist-buttock and armpit fastener belt bodies graduallyand slowly toward the patient's bed (B) or the wheeled chair (W). Thepatient can lie down on the bed (B) or sit back in the wheeled chair (W)after removing the fastener belt bodies 81-83.

In the event of moving the patient from one place to the other, thepatient is first of all let to stand on the rehabilitation machine ofthe present invention as previously described manner, as best shown inFIG. 5. Then, the rehabilitation machine can be pushed by the familymember or the health assistant to the destination. At this time, therehabilitation machine serves as transportation means by virtue of thecasters 20.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to thepreferred embodiments thereof, it is apparent to those skilled in theart that a variety of modifications and changes may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention, which is intended tobe defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A rehabilitation machine, comprising: a base; aplurality of casters mounted on a bottom side of said base; a fixed rodunit installed on an upper side of said base; a footrest member disposedon said base and located in front of said fixed rod unit; a mobiledevice including an upright post installed on said base so as to belocated at one side of said fixed rod unit, a slide seat mountedslidably on said fixed rod unit, a first pivot rod having a lower endconnected pivotally to said upright post and an upper end and a secondpivot rod having an upper end connected pivotally to said slide seat anda lower end connected pivotally to said upper end of said first pivotrod; a plurality of fastener belts mounted on said mobile device forfastening several parts of a user securely; and a driving unit includinga cylinder body installed on said fixed rod unit so as to be locatedopposite side of said upright post and a piston unit disposed movablywithin said cylinder body and further connected pivotally to said slideseat such that upon activation said slide seat is movable between afirst position and a second position; wherein, movement of said pistonunit into said cylinder body results in downward movement of said slideseat along said fixed rod unit to said first position, thereby drivingsaid first and second pivot rods away from said fixed rod unit; wherein,movement of said piston rod outwardly from said cylinder body results inupward movement of said slide seat along said fixed rod unit to saidsecond position, thereby driving said first and second pivot rods towardand abutting said first and second pivot rods against said fixed rodunit.
 2. The rehabilitation machine according to claim 1, wherein saidbase includes a straight rod, a first U-shaped frame having a firstconnecting part connected to one end of said straight rod and twoextension parts extending from two opposite ends of said firstconnection part, and a second U-shaped frame having a second connectingpart connected to the other end of said straight rod and two extensionparts extending from two opposite ends of said second connection part,wherein said plurality of casters are mounted rotatably to bottom sidesof free ends of said extension parts of said first and second U-shapedframes while said fixed rod unit is mounted uprightly on an upper sideof said first connecting part of said first U-shaped frame with saidfootrest member mounted below said straight rod adjacent to said firstconnecting part and transversely extending across said upright post ofsaid mobile device.
 3. The rehabilitation machine according to claim 2,wherein said first U-shaped frame has a width measured transversely ofsaid straight rod ranging 65-85 cm and said second U-shaped frame has awidth measured transversely of said straight rod ranging 25-45 cm. 4.The rehabilitation machine according to claim 2, wherein said fixed rodunit 30 has a rear side cooperating with a free end of said extensionpart of said first U-shaped frame defining a first length equal to25-35% of total length of said base and further cooperating with a freeend of said extension part of said second U-shaped frame a second lengthequal to 65-75% of total length of said base.
 5. The foldable chairaccording to claim 2, wherein said footrest member includes a connectionsection extending downwardly from a bottom side of said straight rod anda footrest section having a front end connected to said connectionsection such that said footrest section extends transversely from bothsides of said straight rod and that said footrest section defines avertical height relative to a support ground smaller than a diameter ofeach caster.
 6. The rehabilitation machine according to claim 1, furthercomprising a first protection cushion fixed to said upright post, asecond protection cushion fixed to said first pivot rod and a thirdprotection cushion fixed to said second pivot rod.
 7. The rehabilitationmachine according to claim 6, further comprising a plurality of shacklesmounted respectively on said first, second and third protection cushionsand said fastener belts, thereby defining a leg fastener belt body withsaid shackles on said first protection cushion for securing the legs ofa user, a waist-buttock fastener belt body with said shackles on saidsecond protection cushion for securing the waist and buttock of the userand an armpit fastener body with said shackle on said third protectioncushion for securing an armpit of the user.
 8. The rehabilitationmachine according to claim 6, further comprising a pair of handgripsmounted on two opposite sides of said third protection cushion tofacilitate griping by hands of the user.
 9. The rehabilitation machineaccording to claim 6, further comprising a pair of handles fixed to twoopposite side of said fixed rod unit adjacent to said second protectioncushion.